Getty Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Nate Herbig getting some water during practice.
The New York Jets said they would never be satisfied with their offensive line depth and they weren’t kidding.
On Thursday, May 5 the green and white scooped up former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Nate Herbig off of waivers.
Mike Kaye of the Pro Football Network was the first to share the news on social media.
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Fantastic Depth
The 23-year-old (will be 24 by the start of the 2022 season) originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2019.
As Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network pointed out, that was back when Joe Douglas was still working for the Eagles organization.
Following the 2019 NFL draft, the Jets ended up firing Mike Maccagnan and a few short weeks later they hired Douglas to be the new general manager.
The #Jets claimed OL Nate Herbig off waivers, as @mike_e_kaye said. He signed with the #Eagles as an undrafted free agent while Joe Douglas was in Philly.
This was a player that the Jets really wanted and thanks to their poor record last year they were afforded the opportunity to claim Herbig off of waivers.
uStadium in an exclusive conversation with the former Stanford product confirmed that he planned on signing with the Jets the next morning if he would’ve cleared through waivers.
In his three seasons in the NFL, Herbig has played in over 33 games and has started in 17 of those contests.
A Great Fit in the Trenches
Herbig will now ensure the depth on the interior of the Jets’ offensive line.
He barely suited up during his rookie season back in 2019, but over the last two years was a key cog for the Eagles.
In 2020 the talented youngster logged snaps at both left guard (346) and right guard (545) with great success, per PFF:
- 71.2 overall grade
- 72.1 pass block grade
- 69.4 run block grade
Then last season, Herbig really settled in at right guard logging over 397 snaps and only allowed one sack.
Gang Green has their two starters at guard locked in with Laken Tomlinson and Alijah Vera-Tucker. Douglas recently boasted at a recent presser that they believe they have one of, if not the best guard combinations in football.
The #Jets wanted to build a wall around QB Zach Wilson (@ZachWilson) & they did.
GM Joe Douglas called Laken Tomlinson (@laken77) + Alijah Vera-Tucker (@ALIJAHVT) “one of, if not the best guard combinations” in the #NFL & he is freaking right! What a turnaround! #TakeFlight
With that Herbig won’t be forced to jump into the starting lineup, but what he does provide is invaluable depth just in case of injury.
As Kaye mentioned on Twitter, Herbig should step right in as the “primary backup” at the guard spots.
Zach Wilson will be operating behind the best Jets offensive line in over a decade. That should be the foundation of success for this offense that plans on opening things up in 2022.
Gang Green has done an excellent job adding weapons for Wilson to throw to at tight end, wide receiver, and heck even running back. However, none of those additions would’ve mattered much if Wilson was staring up at the stars on his back.
That won’t happen with this reinforced offensive line that has a great mix of veterans and youngsters sprinkled throughout.
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